Usage patterns 酒さけ を 飲の む to drink alcohol
I went drinking with a friend.
酒さけ に 酔よ う to get drunk on alcohol
He got drunk and started singing loudly.
酒さけ を 注つ ぐ to pour a drink of alcohol
She poured me a glass of sake.
酒さけ を 断た つ to quit drinking alcohol
I decided to quit drinking for my health.
酒さけ を 酌く む to share a drink together
I shared a drink with an old friend for the first time in a while.
Expressions· 17 酒さけ の 席せき drinking occasion; situation with alcohol; over a drink 酒さけ の 気け looking tipsy; seeming drunk 酒さけ の 肴さかな snack or dish served with alcohol; drinking accompaniment 酒さけ に 弱よわ い weak drinker; can't hold one's liquor; easily gets drunk Show 3 more Show fewer 酒さけ のお 供とも snack with drinks; drinking accompaniment 酒さけ を 勧すす める press alcohol on someone; urge someone to drink; offer alcohol See all 17 in Explore →
Related words 酒 is the broad term for any alcoholic drink, while 日本酒 refers specifically to Japanese rice wine.
酒 is the everyday word for alcoholic drinks, while アルコール is a loanword used in scientific, medical, or formal contexts.
酒 is the plain, everyday word for alcohol (often meaning sake specifically), while 正宗 is a more colorful, brand-derived colloquialism used to praise good sake.
Don't confuse with 酒 (alcohol) and 鮭 (salmon) are pronounced identically as さけ but are completely unrelated in meaning, distinguished only by context and kanji.
酒 refers to alcoholic drinks in general (including drinking sake), whereas みりん is a sweet seasoning made specifically for cooking, not for drinking.
Counted with Used when counting servings or cups of alcohol; 酒 itself is a mass noun, so there isn’t a single fixed everyday counter for the substance.
Counts cupfuls and glassfuls of drink.
Used for sake by volume in traditional contexts (one gō bottle/cup measure).
For drops of liquid (一滴 ).
Word family· 65 (heavy) drinker; drunkard
amazake; sweet low-alcohol sake; fermented rice drink
local sake
love of drink; drinker
sake lees; sake lees paste
Show 24 more Show fewer drinking habits; drunken behavior
heavy drinking; drinking too much
sweet white sake · doburoku (unrefined sake)
sake brewing
cold sake
drinking to drown one's sorrows; desperate drinking
nightcap; drink before bed
liquor-soaked; steeped in alcohol · continuous drinking; daily drinking; binge drinking
pure sake; undiluted sake
unpasteurized sake
barhopping; pub crawl
warmed sake
unrefined sake; cloudy sake
celebratory drink; holiday cheer
alcohol; sake
sake served in a masu; sake sold in a masu
egg sake; hot sake with beaten egg and sugar
nightcap; drink at night
large amount of alcohol; heavy drinking · heavy drinker
cheap sake; cheap alcohol
small drink; small amount of alcohol
high-grade sake; good sake
morning drink (of sake); morning sake
cask sake; barreled sake
See all 65 in Explore →
Etymology The origin is uncertain, but it may be related to 栄え (sakae, 'prosperity') or 避ける (sakeru, 'to avoid'), as alcohol was thought to ward off evil spirits. The kanji 酒 is a pictograph of a sake jar.
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